The Viking Age: A Time of Many Faces 1785709380, 9781785709388, 9781785709395

Table of contents :
Preface and acknowledgment
1. The bare bones
2. Eight Viking Age burial grounds in south-east Sweden
Trinitatis: an early Christian graveyard in Lund
Vannhög: a burial place near an old Viking fortress
Fjälkinge: a remarkable burial ground on the fertile plain
Kopparsvik: a cemetery south of Visby
Slite Square: with a view of sailing routes to the east
Fröjel: a burial ground beside a Viking Age harbour
Birka: a well-known trading place in the realm of the Svear
Skämsta: a farm cemetery
A wide range of burial practices
Everyone was buried
3. Immigrants or locals?
A geological signature can be detected in dental enamel
Different patterns emerge
Someone knew how the deceased wanted to be buried
Did everyone come here voluntarily?
4. Health and care for the frail
'Tall as palm trees'
Toothless or shining white?
Joint problems
Everyday accidents and battle traumas
The dwarf
Leprosy: noseless and numb
Health in Viking Age society
5. Markers of identity?
Filed grooves on the teeth
Young, old, short, and tall
Buried like other people?
Was Gotland the gathering point?
A Nordic custom or inspiration from elsewhere?
Why file grooves in teeth?
6. Burial grounds designated for particular purposes?
The influence of Christianity or division into special areas?
Market places and harbours?
7. A time of many faces
Appendix: Strontium values
Notes
References